AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Austin released himself inside her as her cries of passion rang in his ear, her fingers tightening their hold on his waist. He gazed into her satiated eyes as the life fell out of his own.
“I love you too, Mavis,” he whispered.
Her body stilled beneath him as immediate regret shattered his soul.
Chapter TWENTY-FIVE
Lauren
Adrop of cheese fromthe casserole dripped over the pan and onto the bottom of the oven.
“Shit,” muttered Lauren as the burning smell overpowered the kitchen. She yanked open the oven and wafted a dishcloth to dismiss the smoke. “Dammit,” she added, pinching her nose. One-handed, she pulled out the pan and thrust it onto the cooling rack. With a slam of the oven door, the fire alarm pierced the quiet morning.
“What’s burning?” Mitch hurried into the kitchen and jumped to silence the fire alarm above the doorway.
“Oh, the dumb cheese overflowed...” Lauren pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I was up.” He rolled his eyes. “That couch sucks.” Mitch yawned and turned on the coffee pot. Resting his back against the counter, he folded his arms across his bare chest.
“There’s like six other beds in this house if you don’t want to sleep in ours.” Lauren buried her head in the refrigerator, rearranging the contents on each shelf until she found the cream.
Mitch snorted, eyeing the container as she set it down in front of him. “Since when do you want me in our bed?”
She slammed the refrigerator door closed. “Look, you only have to pretend to like me for a few more hours. As soon as brunch is over and everyone leaves, you can go back to hating me, all right?”
“I don’t hate you, Lauren.”
The coffee pot beeped behind him, but his eyes held firm on hers, catching her in an unexpected web of truth.
Is it the truth though?
Lauren scrunched her nose and searched his familiar face, her gaze lingering on the endearing laugh lines beneath his green eyes.When’s the last time we even laughed together? When’s the last time we...A shiver of courage snaked along her spine as her lips parted. “Well, you sure don’t love me anymore, Mitch. That much is obvious.”
He sighed and shook his head, scooping up a white ceramic mug from the counter. “That’s not true, Peaches,” he answered and poured himself a cup of piping hot coffee.
Peaches?
